The Ahmedabad Defenders and Chennai Blitz are all set to take on each other in the second fixture of the Prime Volleyball League here at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. Speaking about their experience in the team set-up so far, Ahmedabad Defenders' Rodrigo Villalboa from Argentina and Chennai Blitz's Bruno Da Silva from Brazil expressed that they have enjoyed training with the Indian players in their respective teams.
"This is my first visit to India. My experience in India has been beautiful so far. I am really excited to start the league. Everyone here is always happy. Whether we are training or doing anything else, everyone is always smiling. The Indian players here are very good. They practice very well. We have practice sessions in the morning, afternoon and evening, and that's really good for me. The more we practice, the better we will play in the match," said Ahmedabad Defenders' Rodrigo Villalboa.
Bruno Da Silva said that he has great expectations from the Chennai Blitz, "I am feeling great before our first match. The Chennai Blitz team has been very welcoming towards Fernando Gonzalez and myself. I have good expectations from our side because I know that we have a really good team. It's a very exciting time for us and it's been really good to play with the boys and to hang out with."
When asked about how he stumbled upon the sport of volleyball, Villalboa said, "I have played volleyball for 18 years. I started playing volleyball for the first time with a club in Buenos Aires in Argentina. I started playing there in 2003. I stayed in Velez Sarsfield for five years and then I moved to other clubs later on. I used to play football before taking up volleyball. A coach in my first club saw my good height and asked me to start playing volleyball and that's how it all started."
The Attacker, who played for the Argentina team for the first time in 2015, added, "The Prime Volleyball League will help all the players a lot. The players are strong and good here. Every match is going to be very important for all teams. Every match will be like the final for us."
Speaking about his introduction to volleyball, Bruno Da Silva said, "Football is the major sport in Brazil. I used to play football for a B club over there. Unfortunately, I had to stop playing football as my parents had to move to a place which didn't have a football team. Then one day, I went to watch my cousin practice volleyball with her club team and they had a player missing, so they asked me to play. The coach of that team motivated me to start playing volleyball professionally. He told me that I could get anything in life through volleyball if I put in the time and worked hard. I stuck with the plan and here I am."
Bruno Da Silva, who plays as an Attacker, further added, "I started playing beach and indoor volleyball when I was 16 years old. I have travelled around the world to play volleyball. I met my wife in Switzerland in 2009 and I moved to the United States of America in 2011. I am based in the US now and I have generally played in club tournaments (beach & indoor volleyball) around the world."
The Chennai Blitz will be up against the Ahmedabad Defenders at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday. The Prime Volleyball League will feature a total of 24 matches.
( With inputs from ANI )
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